This soup consists of butternut squash, carrots, onion, celery and tomato. It’s low fat, filling and packed with flavour. I was going to call this “Autumn/Fall Soup”, as I appreciate not every English speaker is a British English speaker. But fall soup conjures images of holding a bowl of soup, and promptly dropping it onto the floor. So autumnal vegetable soup it is.
Yield; 4-6 servings (4 as a main, 6 as a starter) Cook time; One hour 15 minutes
You’ll need;
- One tablespoon of oil
- Two brown onions, minced
- Four large cloves of garlic, minced
- Three carrots, peeled and diced
- Two sticks of celery, diced
- One butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
- Two tablespoons of tomato puree
- 500ml hot vegetable stock
- Two 400g (14oz) cans of chopped tomatoes
- Two teaspoons of each of the following; dried parsley, dried oregano and dried basil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Method;
- Firstly prepare the vegetables. Mince the garlic and the onion, dice the celery and carrot (I aimed for a pea sized dice) and chop the butternut squash. (A tip when mincing garlic, roughly chop it then sprinkle over a little salt and leave for a few minutes. The salt brings out the moisture in the garlic, making it easier to mince.)
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, cook for a minute then add the onion, covering the pot with a lid. Continue cooking for five minutes.
- Next add the carrot and celery, cover again and cook for a further five minutes.
- Then add the butternut squash, cover and cook for five minutes.
- At this point add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, stock and herbs. Give everything a good stir, return the lid and cook for 50-60 minutes or until the vegetable are cooked. Cook time will depend on how small or large your vegetables are.
- Once the soup is cooked, check for seasoning and add black pepper and salt as needed.
Serve along with crusty bread or sandwiches for a satisfying lunch. Alternatively, this would make for a perfect starter.
Bethany's Vegan Kitchen 